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Rolling Stone magazine said sorry for rape story at UVA after it had discovered some inconsistencies regarding the actual facts that took place on the campus of the university.
The errors discovered in the already debatable coverage about a supposed gang rape at the University of Virginia led the editors to lose confidence that the case was in fact accurate.
This is a stunning retreat just few days after the incident was reported by author Sabrina Rubin Erdely.
According to a post online made by the magazine’s editor Will Dana, notwithstanding new data, there seem to be inconsistencies in Jackie’s record, and the magazine has arrived at the conclusion that its trust in her was misguided.
The same post stated that the editorial team is attempting to be sensitive to bias embarrassment numerous women feel after a rape. Also, the magazine lamented the choice of not getting in touch with the “so-called” assaulters to get their record. A clear apology to anyone feeling affected by the coverage was added.
On Nov. 19, the magazine published an article about “Jackie,” an unidentified UVA student who stated she was assaulted and raped by a group of males at a Phi Kappa Psi party in the fall of 2012.
Her striking story, with distinctive subtle details from the night of the episode and hints that rapes were common at UVA humiliated the college and sprang an investigation by school authorities and nearby police.
Not long after the 9,000-word piece was out, media specialists started to scrutinize Erdely’s reporting practices.
Rolling Stone indicated that she invested months in covering the story with regular conversations with Jackie, her close ones and college authorities. Nevertheless, Erdely never addressed the denounced, “Drew” and other students at Phi Kappa Psi. Apparently, Erdely didn’t contact the men due to an understanding she had with Jackie.
Since the story was rather delicate, the reporter thought it appropriate to respect the ‘victim’s’ demand not to contact the man who supposedly were behind the sexual assault, nor the other males involved. At the time Jackie motivated her request saying she was afraid that the alleged rapist gang might take vengeance on her.
On Friday Phi Kappa Psi released a statement saying that initial suspicions regarding the truthfulness of the story only grew stronger when alumni and students started exploring the account in-depth.
The story steered uproar at the college and attracted national attention regarding the issue of campus rapes. The article led to a local police inquiry and the nomination of an independent investigator by the state attorney general.
